Key Industries

Hillsboro is a major employment center within the Portland metropolitan area—and it’s a place where things are made. The region’s concentration of skilled manufacturing talent is 26 percent—more than double the U.S. average.

Compared to the U.S. average, Hillsboro has more than three times the concentration of technology and advanced manufacturing jobs and more than twice the concentration of most software developers, engineers, skilled production workers and bio technicians.

The state of Oregon has the fourth-highest concentration of computer and electronics companies in the U.S., and Intel tops the list of employers in Hillsboro, with more than 18,000 employees across its three Hillsboro campuses. In all, there are more than 21,500 jobs in Hillsboro focused on computer and electronics manufacturing, earning the city its nickname “The Silicon Forest.”

With access to a highly-educated workforce, Hillsboro also attracts companies providing products and services related to the communication and information technology industries. This sector’s job growth in Hillsboro measures 57 percent over the past five years.

Hillsboro has a highly-skilled workforce performing over 3,000 jobs within general to advanced manufacturing operations. And advanced manufacturing in Hillsboro is growing at a rate of almost five times that of U.S. manufacturing overall.

Hillsboro’s bio and clean technology companies employ more than 2,400 people in the areas of advanced materials, software systems, clean technology innovation, renewable energy, precision manufacturing and health research. These organizations often work in partnership with regional medical facilities including Oregon Health & Science University, Kaiser Permanente and Tuality Healthcare. Clean tech expertise is 22 percent more concentrated here than the U.S. average, and Oregon has committed to generating 50 percent of the state’s energy from renewable resources by 2040.